Ratchet mechanism.



J. F. RUDE & J. H. DAVIS.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

39% Ruck W WNE.SSE.S

TATE PATENT @FFEQE JOHN F. RUDE AND JAMES H. DAVIS. OF LIBERTY, INDIANA.

RATCHET MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented h1g1. 19, 1918.

Application filed April 24;, 1916. Serial No. 93,079.

T all whom it may concern:

it known that we. dorm F. RUDE and JAMES H. DAVIS, citizens of the United States, residing at Liberty Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ratchet Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to ratchet mecha nism of theclass adapted to the use of manure spreaders or for other suitable purposes, and the objects oi our improvements are to provide means for automatically locking the ratchet wheel with the apron out of action to prevent its movement under the gravity or the load; to provide an adjustablelever pawl tor automatically engaging with the apron driving ratchet wheel simultaneously with the discontinuance of the action of the driving pawls thereon, whereby said wheel with the apron may be looked against any movement under the gravity of the load when inclined from a horizontal plane, and to provide simple and durable construction and assemblage of the various members se curing facility of operation and eiiiciency of action. These and other desirable objects incorporated in th claims may be attained in the following described manner as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation with parts broken away of a manure spreader embodying our improvements and Fig. 2 a vertical section on the line a-a of Fig. 1.

In the drawings, 1 represents the body of a manure spreader, 2 the rear ground wheels, 3 the beater driven in the usual manner, not shown, and provided wita the gear 4, 5 the endless apron, 6 the apron driving haft provided with the ratchet wheel 7. all being constructed and arranged in the ordinary manner.

The bell crank lever S is pivotally secured at 9 to the body and is connected by means of links 11 with the rear end of corresponding driving pawls 12 and 13 which are adapted to engage with the ratchet wheel. Slotted links 14 and 15 are pivotally secured to the body at 16 and the corresponding driving pawls are slidably engaged with the slots therein by means of the pins 17. The pinion 18 engaging with gear 1 is journaled on the fixed stud 19 and formed with eccentries 21 on its respective ends. The eccentric rods 22 in movable engagement with the corresponding eccentrics connect with the respective link let and 15 and serve to oscillate them on the pivot 16 in opposite direc tions simultaneously. The detent hand lever 23 pivotally secured to the body at 24 and connected with the bell crank lever 8 by means of the rod 25 serves to move said lever 8, the links 11 and the heel of the driving pawls with the pins 17 thereon into different positions along the slots in the oscillating link 1% and 15 for changing the throw of the pawls and thereby changing the speed of the ratchet wheel and of the apron driven by said wheel.

A rod 26 pivotally connected with the bell crank lever near the links 11 is adjustably threaded in the housing 27 and the lever pawl 28 pivotally secured to the body at 29 is pivotally secured at its rear end to said housing and adapted to detachably engage at its front end with the teeth of the ratchet wheel for locking it securely against being I rotated.

In operation, the adjustment of the rod 26 in the housing serves to control. the point of the lever pawl in relation to the ratchet wheel in such manner that its engagement therewith will be efl ected only and simultaneously with the movement of the driving pawls into the neutral position of inaction on the oscillating links by means of the hand lever and its COi'll1eCilOl1S,1S shown in Fig. 1.

W hen the driving pawls are in the neutral position of inaction the lever pawl is in engagement with the ratchet wheel for lock ing it with the apron immovable and preventing the load from gravitating toward the beater. and especially when the apron is inclined with its front end above a horizontal plane either by construction or otherwise.

Having fully described our improvements, what we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The combination of a ratchet wheel, a pawl therefor a driven pitman for actuat ng the pawl with the wheel, a lever for moving the pawl into a neutral position or inaction, a locking pawl adjustably connected with the lever and movable simultaneously thereby into engagement with the wheel.

2. The combination of a ratchet wheel, driven pitmen tor actuating the respective pawls into successive engagement with the wheel, a lever with connection for moving the pawls into a neutral position of inaction, and a locking pawl adjustably corn nected with the lever and movable simultaneously thereby into engagement with the wheel.

3. The combination of a ratchet wheel, alternately driven pawls for actuating the wheel in one direction, a lever for moving the pawls into a position of inaction, and means actuated simultaneously by the lever into engagement with the Wheel for preventing the furtheimovement of the Wheel.

4. In combination, a ratchet wheel, a pawl therefor, driven conections with the pawl, a locking pawl pivotally secured at a fixed point, a lever for .slnfting the pawl to a neutral position, and adjustable connections 15 actuated simultaneously thereby for engaging the locking pawl with the wheel.

J. F. RUDE. J. H. DAVIS. lVitnesses B. S. CARR,

A. MARBAUGH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents eaoh, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

